ELIZABETHTOWN — Bladen County has record 100 positive cases of the coronavirus, DHHS reported Saturday.

The new daily totals from the Department of Health and Human Services put the county as one of 54 with 100 or more in the state. On April 23, Bladen County was one of a dozen in the state with five or fewer cases.

Known to impact the number, but how much so remaining unknown, is the outbreak at the Smithfield Foods plant in Tar Heel. The state defines an outbreak as two or more. Bladen County had recorded one case through April 17, the day before it was known a worker at the plant had tested positive. Media reports estimating the number infected at the plant exceeds 100.

Saturday’s increase for the county was five cases, making nine in three days after three days where reassignments left the county with three fewer than it had Monday. The county has had seven days with no increase in cases since April 18.

The county Health Department has confirmed at least 73 recoveries. There have been two deaths.

The state’s death toll is up 18 to 877, lab-confirmed cases increased 1,185 to 27,673, and the number hospitalized dropped for the second day in a row, this time by 42 to 638. The state says 404,157 tests have been completed, a number that doesn’t include independent lab testing.

In the DHHS postal breakdown, the ZIP code for Elizabethtown and White Lake has 22 cases. There have been 14 in Clarkton, 12 in Bladenboro, 11 in Tar Heel, nine in White Oak, six in Council, five in East Arcadia, three in Dublin, and one in Kelly. The numbers do not match the state’s county total because not all communities are represented.

In adjacent counties, there have been 62 deaths and 2,300 cases. Cumberland has 17 deaths and 682 cases; Columbus has 26 deaths and 327 cases; Robeson has 14 deaths and 754 cases; Sampson has four deaths and 462 cases; and Pender has one death and 75 cases.

Congregate living settings have reported 545 deaths and 5,353 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified at 91 nursing homes, 42 residential care facilities, 19 correctional institutions and six other facilities. Of those, six each are in Robeson and Columbus, five in Cumberland and one in Pender.

With 88 percent of hospitals reporting, the state says there is availability of 77 percent of ventilators, 18 percent of intensive care unit beds, and 22 percent of hospital beds.

In the personal protective equipment category, gowns and N95 respirator masks each have less than a 30-day supply.

There was no significant change to the number of cases involving the state’s three largest urban areas. They have about half of the cases and deaths.

There was also no big change in age and gender breakdown. Those 50-and-over account for 96 percent of the deaths and 40 percent of the cases, with ages 25-49 having 44 percent of the cases. The split of cases and deaths is close to even between men and women.

Alan Wooten can be reached at 910-247-9132 or awooten@bladenjournal.com. Twitter: @alanwooten19.